When conducting a Mental Capacity Assessment, the assessor is required to take care and consideration of the person being assessed. This includes making sure that the assessment is accessible, and that reasonable adjustments are made to aid the individual’s understanding and retention.
Read More »Who can be present during a Mental Capacity Assessment?
During the COVID-19 pandemic, a large number of mental capacity assessments were completed remotely, through video platforms such as Microsoft Teams or Zoom. This was to enable staff to conduct ‘safe’ assessments without the risk of infection or transmitting the virus.
Now the pandemic is over, face-to-face assessments have returned to being the norm. However, we do on occasion receive requests for online assessments rather than face-to-face, due to factors such as time, distance or availability.
Read More »Mental Capacity Assessments: Face-to-Face or Remote?A Best Interest Decision is the step that is taken if a person is found to lack mental capacity for a specific decision at a specific time. It is not a single action, but rather a dynamic process that aims to uphold the individual’s rights, keeping their thoughts, feelings, beliefs and values at its heart, while also consulting with all relevant parties to weigh up the viable options.
Read More »Best Interest Decisions in everyday practice: Part 1
Litigation capacity is a person’s ability to conduct legal proceedings. It is a dynamic and longitudinal process, requiring active understanding, retention and use of salient information to weigh up related decisions and give direction to a legal representative.
Read More »What is litigation capacity and why is it important?
The term ‘insight’ is often used by health and care professionals. For example, it may be recorded that a person ‘lacks insight’ into their toileting personal care needs. By which, the professional may be seeking to state (in a diplomatic way) that the person does not recognise when they have been incontinent.
The term is also used in other contexts in the care setting as well. For example, that a person may ‘lack insight’ into their mobility as a result of their dementia. By which the professional may be indicating that the individual’s falls are due to their impaired short-term memory and orientation, and that they are not able to process that their movements have deteriorated due to their Parkinson’s-related dementia which is causing them to have increased falls.
Read More »Mental Capacity and Insight
In the Court of Appeal case of Re Sudiksha Thirulamesh (dec’d) (2024, EWCA Civ 896), the concept of a person’s belief on decision-making was brought to the forefront. For all assessors of Mental Capacity, this case is highly recommended reading.
Read More »Mental Capacity and the role of ‘belief’ in decision-making
When conducting a Mental Capacity Assessment it is vital to understand the salient information relevant to this case. Put simply, ‘salient information’ is the relevant information that is required in order for the relevant person to be able to demonstrate capacity for the specific decision being addressed.
To help illustrate this point, we have two case studies that consider two separate decisions: whether to install bed rails, and whether to smoke.
Read More »What is ‘salient information’?We recently had the privilege to attend a stimulating event exploring the role of executive dysfunction and mental capacity. The afternoon was hosted by CoPPA North West and Pennine Care NHS Foundation and featured speakers from across the legal and medical professions, including Judge Simon Burrows, Barristers Rebecca Clark and Neil Allen, and Consultant Psychiatrists Dr Cathy Symonds, Dr Ade Akinola and Dr Samuel Wintrip.
Read More »COPPA: Masterclass in Executive Dysfunction & Mental Capacity
When assessing Mental Capacity, it is our responsibility to inform the person we are assessing of who we are, why we are visiting them, and the purpose of the assessment.
Read More »Case study: Introducing a Mental Capacity Assessment
Fluctuating capacity is when a person’s ability to make a specific decision varies over time. This is usually due to a health condition that disturbs… Read More »What is fluctuating capacity?